Worth Waiting For
by Silver Sun3
Summary: Darry OC fic. Johnny meets his sister who was put up for adoption when he was 2. Now she's 19 and she's come back to Tulsa to help out her brother and his gang too.
1. Chapter 1

**Worth Waiting For**

**Chapter one: This is it**

Disclaimer: All recognisable characters belong to S.E. Hinton.

_This is it, no turning back now, _Cassy thought to herself as she rang the doorbell on the old weathered house. She tucked a lock of her dark blonde hair behind her ear, a nervous habit she had picked up over the years. Blinking her deep green eyes she stood, becoming increasingly impatient and uncomfortable. _Maybe this was a bad idea. _Just as she was about to leave, the door creaked open to reveal a small boy that looked about fourteen but she knew he was older. Behind him she could see a proud woman with frown lines creasing her face, sitting on a couch seemingly ignoring that she even had a door.

"Hello?" The boy addressed her looking a bit confused. He reminded her a bit of a lost puppy….

"Um, hi, my name is Cassy." At this she noticed the woman bristle but she never looked up from the book she was reading. "Um, I actually came here to talk to you; Johnny right?" The boy nodded mechanically, not taking his eyes off of her. "Could we go outside for a sec?" Once again, he nodded. She saw the subtle movement of his hand feeling his pocket for something, a blade. She could see the handle sticking out at the top. _The poor thing must not have it easy, _she thought rhetorically as she noted the prominent scar on his cheek. They sat down side by side on the porch. He took out a cigarette and stuck it in his mouth. After a few seconds of his fruitless search for a match Cassy took out her lighter and lit it for him.

"Thanks," was all he said. She smiled back at him broadly, if only just to make him feel more comfortable.

"Now, where to begin? You're probably wondering why I'm here and I plan on answering that but there are a few things I need to explain first for you to understand." She waited for his nod of understanding before she continued. "Well, I've been living the past year here in Oklahoma, but I just moved to Tulsa last week. Before I lived in Oklahoma I lived in New York in an orphanage. I was put up for adoption when I was five, you would have only been two. I swear, this does have relevance," she said at his questioning stare. He nodded for her to continue. "Well, I might as well get straight to the point. My name is Cassandra Cade. I'm your big sister." She waited a moment for it to sink in. "Well, not legally anymore, but biologically I am." Once again, all he could do was nod. She could see his mind working at a mile a minute.

"Why did they give you up for adoption?" he asked suddenly. She scowled at this so profusely that he thought he had offended her.

"Mr. Cade wanted a boy, and two kids were too expensive, he would have had to have given up drinking." The last part was said with such malice Johnny almost flinched. She sighed. "Oh well, what's done is done, I'm really here because I want to get to know you, see how you're doing and such."

"I'm doing as well as can be expected with parents that wish I didn't exist, and make it a well known fact," he stated bitterly. Sighing, he rested his chin on his hands. "I have great friends though; they're the closest thing to family I've got." She smiled brilliantly at that.

"I'm so glad to hear that, my friends are how I got through life as well." She looked up at the clouds passing over the blue sky above them when another thought seemed to come to her. "I almost forgot!" She handed him a piece of paper. "Here's my address and number, don't hesitate to come over if you need anything, even if you just want to get away from your parents." With that she stood and stretched her arms above her head. "I have to head for work now, so I'll see ya later k?"

"Yeah," was his reply as she headed for her car. It was a red Cadillac Deville. It was an incredibly tuff car that he knew anyone in the gang would kill for.

He could see the physical resemblance of his mother in her. She was tall with long legs, blonde hair and green eyes, skin more on the fair side. Johnny looked more like his father so he didn't look a lot like Cassy. As she drove away he found himself heading for the Curtis house. This was big news after all.

Soda and Two-bit were sitting on the front porch, both with soda cans in their hands. They chatted and laughed noisily until Johnny came into view, though the wide grins never left their faces

"Hey Johnnycake, whatcha doin'?" Two-bit asked with his trademark grin.

"I have something to tell you guys, where's Pony?" Soda chuckled a bit.

"School, where else?" Johnny mentally slapped himself. That should have been obvious. He took a seat next to Two-bit and sighed.

"So what's up?" Soda asked a bit more seriously than before. Johnny looked at them appraisingly and after a moments hesitation he explained the whole story to them. Two-bit gave a low whistle.

"You're kidding me Johnnycake, you got a sister?" Two-bit asked in disbelief. "How old?" Johnny quickly did the math in his head.

"Well she said she was five when she was put up for adoption, and I was two so that would make her 19." Johnny nodded to confirm this to himself.

By the end of the day all the greasers knew about this little tidbit of information. The Curtis brothers, Two-bit and Johnny were all seated in the living room of the Curtis home. The house itself wasn't much but the familiarity gave it a nice atmosphere that all the Greaser's appreciated. It was their refuge, their 'safe place' so to speak. The only difference this time was that Two-bit had yet to turn on the T.V.

"So Johnny, what does she do for a living?" Soda asked. Johnny scrunched his brow in thought.

"I dunno, she didn't really say all that much else. She gave me her address and phone number though so I could ask her anytime. She doesn't live that far away either just two blocks. She has a really tuff car too. A Cadillac Deville, so she can't have a too low paying job," he surmised. That got Darry's attention. The Cadillac Deville was his dream car.

"What colour?" he personally liked blue.

"Red." That was good too in Darry's opinion. "I think I'm gonna go see her tonight, maybe she'll let me stay there?" His eyes glistened with hope at this new idea. Soda shrugged.

"Well she gave you her address so she probably will. Bring her over tomorrow, she sounds interesting." Johnny nodded.

"I'll see what I can do."


	2. The Gang

**Worth waiting for**

**Chapter two: the Gang**

Disclaimer: all recognisable characters belong to S.E.Hinton

Johnny stood anxiously, looking up at the house that held the address on the paper crumpled in his hand. The house itself wasn't that impressive, but to Johnny, having grown up in a place that needed a lot of work, he thought it looked wonderful. The house itself was small, with one story and white siding. The front door was an inviting powder blue. There were random flowers in a patch on either side of the porch. There were two oak trees on either side of the property. Quaint came to Johnny's mind as he stared at the house. Taking a deep breath he walked up the stone steps and knocked twice at the door. Variations of what to say ran through his mind but he soon found out that wasn't needed as Cassandra's smiling face greeted him and she ushered him inside. The first thing he noticed when he went inside was the temperature. It was much cooler than it should be seeing as it was so warm outside in late summer. He could hear a slight rumbling and saw its source was a window air conditioner in the kitchen.

"I'm glad you came; I was worried you wouldn't and I'd have to go back and get you. I went to the principal at your school and inquired about your parents. He said you never came to school so he had no idea." Johnny looked at the hardwood floor sheepishly.

"That's not true, I go to school sometimes." She raised questioning brows at him.

"Oh really? And how often is sometimes?" He felt nervous and indignant at her questioning but not nearly as much as he felt relieved, relieved that someone cared enough to at least inquire.

"Alright, alright, not very often," his sheepish grin made her laugh in spite of herself.

"That's what I thought." The smile and sparkle in her eyes made her critical tone seem not so harsh. "Why don't we discuss this over dinner? I was just about to check the chicken when you came. Go in to the kitchen and get yourself a drink, there's soda, orange juice and milk in the fridge. The glasses are in the cupboard above the sink." She followed him into the kitchen and over to the oven. As she opened it the smell of sage and thyme filled the room. It made Johnny's stomach growl in anticipation. She handed him a plate full of broccoli and cheese, rice, chicken and a slice of fresh buttered bread. He looked at his plate trying to remember when he last had a meal this…domestic and good. Nothing came to mind. Not wanting her to bring up school yet, he started the conversation for the first time.

"I told my gang about you," he stated simply. She looked thoughtful for a second.

"Oh yeah? How'd they take it?"

"They wanna meet you."

"Really?" He nodded.

"Tomorrow, they want you to come with me to one of my friends places. Soda asked me to. He's got two brothers, Ponyboy's fourteen and the other, Darryl, is twenty-one. Their parents died a few months back and now Darry's lookin' after 'em." Cassy looked at him sympathetically.

"I'm assuming he works?" Once again Johnny nodded.

"He's a roofer. Keeps pulling his back out though. Put's him in an awful mood. He's a good guy though; just not ready to be raising two kid brothers."

"Imagine doing that after the death of his parents, he must really love them." She smiled sweetly.

"He sure does, whether he admits it or not." Johnny had a longing in his voice that broke Cassy's heart. Then, all of a sudden he shook his head and brightened up. "So will you come with me tomorrow?" he asked hopefully.

"Yeah, if we can go before I have to go to work." Johnny nodded.

"When do you go to work?"

"I work one to six on weekdays and nine to five on Saturdays. I get Sundays off because the gym's closed that day." Johnny furrowed his brow.

"The gym?"

"Yeah, I work as a receptionist at the fitness centre. My friend's dad is the owner so I get paid pretty well." She grinned and he couldn't help but return it.

After they ate Cassy cleared the dishes and showed him around. She had one spare room that she said he could use anytime, day or night. He smiled at her gratefully. They both knew that he'd be taking full advantage of that offer.

The next day was Friday and Johnny got Cassy up bright and early to head for the Curtis' home. Really though, it was only ten o'clock.

The first thing Cassy noticed as Johnny led her up the lane was the noise emanating from the house. It was a good noise though. A busy kind of noise that was welcoming, even though she had yet to step through the door. She raised a brow when he opened the door and pulled her in.

"Hey Johnnycake, ya brought her!" a handsome blond haired boy came bounding towards them and stuck out his hand. "Hello there, the names Sodapop Curtis, and you are?" She took his hand and shook it animatedly.

"Cassandra Cade, nice to meet you." At this another guy came rushing over. He had rusty hair and friendly eyes.

"Two-bit Mathews, welcome to the greaser headquarters. Rule number one, there are no rules! Rule number two, don't look Dallas in the eye," at this he pointed to his eye. "'cause he'll pop!" With that he made an exploding gesture and then ran when he heard the words, "Why you little!" She had hardly registered the blond hair go by as the guy she decided must be Dallas had chased him out the door. The last thing she heard was "See what I mean!" from somewhere outside. She couldn't help the laugh that burst from her throat. Soda linked his arm with hers and pulled her onto the sofa with him. Everyone was watching Mickey on the television so she took her chance to look around. It was a warn down house but it was nice. It had the feeling of being lived in. She soon realised that not all eyes were on the TV though as hers met with the cool blue of a tall muscular man. His brown hair was slicked like the rest of them but she could tell he was older. Twenty maybe? Then it dawned on her. This must be Darry. Johnny did say he was twenty-one and with the aged look in his eyes it made sense that it would be caused by all the responsibility he was burdened with. She smiled warmly at him. He was handsome and she could see the intelligence in his features. She respected him all the more for the obvious love and devotion he had towards his brothers. She was pleased when his eyes softened and he returned the smile, if only a little.


	3. The Catalyst

**Worth Waiting For**

**Chapter three :The Catalyst**

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to S.E. Hinton.

It was three o'clock that same day. Cassy was sitting behind a rounded counter reading a book with her legs propped up on the inside ledge. It usually didn't get too busy until after five when everyone got off work. She still had two more hours until she had to really focus, which she was glad for. She was getting to the best part of the book. She was about to turn the page when two young men came in wearing big, dirty yellow gloves. She had almost forgotten there was some maintenance being done today. She looked up smiling to greet them. It grew when she recognised one of them to be Darryl. Obviously they were working on the roof.

"Hello again Darryl, how can I help you two?" Putting her book away she stood up to properly greet them. The man next to him was rather handsome. He had black hair with the deepest blue eyes Cassy had ever seen. His face was long and defined. He was giving her an appraising look with a glint in his eye. She could see the arrogance not only in his expression but in his posture as well. He was attractive and knew it. Just as Darryl opened his mouth to reply, he was cut off by the other man beside him.

"Well babe, once we got all the shingles to the roof, the latch on the ladder broke and now we can't get up there to do our job. What do you suggest we do?" The suggestive tone in his voice bothered her. She noticed Darryl glaring at him after he cut him off. It seemed the two didn't get along too well.

"She has a name," Darryl said in a low voice. Cassy was sure she could hear a trace of a growl in his voice. The other man looked at him quizzically.

"Ok…?" He obviously didn't get it. Cassy could only roll her eyes.

"Well, come on, there's a stairwell at the back with a door to the roof." Darryl and the other man followed her silently to the back of the gym. All the while Darryl was glaring at Trent, his partner. Trent was always flirting on the job, but this time it bothered Darryl. He assumed it was because she was part of the gang by association now and in a similar position to himself. This made him respect her all the more.

He watched as Trent's eyes followed her every move. An irrational anger swept over him. He, of course, would do nothing about it though.

Pulling the keys from her belt loop, Cassy unlocked the door and opened it, revealing to them the roof. After Trent walked past, Darryl took Cassy's arm and pulled her just behind the door.

"Be careful with him Cass, he's a one night stand kind of guy. His idea of a good time is to kick someone's ass, get drunk and then get laid. You don't want to get caught up in that." His tone and expression were deadly serious. She smiled brightly at him which visibly made him calm.

"There's no need to worry Darryl, he's not my type anyway." Darryl raised his brows at this.

"May I ask what your type is?" His eyes were boring intensely into hers. Knots were slowly building in his stomach and were making his breath speed up. He had an irrational urge to pull her into his arms where he knew she would be safe from anyone that only wanted her body. He pegged it to adopting the roll of protective older brother for the past few months. Even he had a hard time believing that.

"My type is caring, not arrogant, responsible..." At this she paused and looked him over. "About two years older with brown hair…" _Is she implying…_

"Darryl, get your ass out here and help me!" Trent cut his train of thought and any extension to Cassy's answer there may have been. He could have throttled Trent at that moment but instead averted his gaze to the floor.

"Sorry, I have to go." She looked disappointed when he said that.

"Me too, I shouldn't leave the front desk unattended for too long." She smiled brightly at him once more before she turned and went back to her desk. It was busier this time of year since summer was coming up. People were preparing for vacations and the like. Though Cassy wasn't an incredibly social person, everyone that entered the gym was completely friendly, and the manager had an outlandish sense of humour that never ceased to make Cassy smile. The thought that Darryl was there made the day seem to go by quicker.

It was just as she was putting her sweater on that Darryl and Trent returned to the front. Darryl had a dirt smudge on his cheek that made his rugged features look soft, or as Cassy would have described it, 'utterly adorable'. Trent's suave smile unnerved her as he approached.

"Hey, perfect timing, need a ride home?" She gave him a polite smile.

"No, I have my own car thanks." He frowned for a second before taking out a pen and a piece of scrap paper.

"Ok babe, but if you're ever in need of my…services, here's my number." She rolled her eyes at his wink after he'd turned his back to leave. Darryl exited behind her and once outside he grabbed the little piece of paper.

"Let me take care of that for you." Setting it on the ground, he lit it on fire with his cigarette lighter. The smirk on his face as it burned was priceless.

"Well, I was going to throw it out, but that works too." She smirked. "A bit more creative."

"I thought so too," he laughed and she could help but join in. The chance to see the rare spark of true contentment in his features was enough to make her want to spend time with him.

Placing his hand on the small of her back, he walked her to her car. He didn't want her to leave but he was afraid of what she would think if he asked her to stay. This was the one area that he was unsure about.

Looking into his eyes she saw the longing and on an impulse pulled him into a hug. His eyes widened but he wrapped his arms around her in the protective embraced that he wanted her to stay in. Where he knew she was safe.

"Did you know your name means darling?" It was a rather random question and he pulled back slightly to look at her, brows raised.

"Really?" she nodded and pulled him back to her.

"It suits you." If her head hadn't been buried into his shoulder she would have seen the grin that spread across his face.

"Is that why you don't call me Darry?" He felt the breath of her contemplative sigh on his nckt, sending goose bumps to every place it touched.

"One reason, but Darryl is one of my favourite names, I could never turn such a nice name into a food group, no matter how endearing it may seem." He nodded.

"Call me whatever you want," he said wistfully. He couldn't see the mischievous grin on her face.

"Ok Hunnybuns." He spluttered at the utterly feminine name. "Well you said whatever I want right?" He glared down at her only to see her smile widen. "Fine, fine, I'll stick with Darryl." He gave a single nod to show he approved.

"Good idea," he said, positioning his chin back over her head where it had been before. He voice took on a warning tone.

"Was that a threat?" she asked. He held her a bit tighter.

"No, just a fact." There was a silence for a few minutes before Darryl pulled back slightly to look in her eyes. She noticed his uncertainty and rubbed his arms for assurance. His focus moved to her hands for a split second before they returned to her eyes. "So, Cassy, are you free on Sunday?" She looked thoughtful for a moment.

"As far as I know." Again, he nodded once.

"Well, Soda's gonna be working and Ponyboy's going with Johnny to watch the horse show, so did you wanna go up to the beach with me? It's a forty minute drive but I know a place that's pretty secluded, we'll probably have that whole part to ourselves." He visibly relaxed when he noticed her eyes light up at the suggestion.

"I'd love to; I haven't been to a beach in so long." She beamed at him.

"Great, um, I'll pick you up at about ten thirty and we can eat lunch there."

"I'll be waiting." She gave him a kiss on the cheek before she hopped in her car. Darryl was grinning to himself as he watched her drive off. _She's really something._ He thought on his way home.


End file.
